The World Bank initiated the Benchmarking PPP Procurement reports in 2015. The Procuring Infrastructure PPPs 2018 report is a continuation of the Benchmarking PPP Procurement 2017 report which has increased its review coverage from 82 to 135 countries. It has also improved on the previous Benchmarking PPP Procurement 2017 edition by evaluating the laws and regulations of 135 economies in great detail against globally recognized best practices.

The 2018 report also has another valuable goal in that it aims to help governments, partners and stakeholders identify areas for reform to achieve more transparent, competitive, and efficient PPP procurement systems and increase private sector participation in infrastructure and service delivery.

The 2018 Albanian Ranking

The following exhibits taken from the 2017 report (see page 53) and the 2018 report (see page 75) show where Albania currently stands in the procurement of PPPs. Overall Albania improved its scores in 2018 in comparison to the 2017 scores with one exception.

Albania’s score for PPP preparation (67/100 in 2017 and 67/100 in 2018) remained the same. Its score for procurements of PPPs increased slightly (78/100 in 2017 to 80/100 in 2018). Albania could still improve in the area of PPP contract management which showed a slight improvement in 2018(55/100 in 2017 to 58/100 in 2018). It is also important to note that in the area of unsolicited PPP procurements Albania scored the same in 2017 and 2018 (75/100).

The new scores for Albania are encouraging as they show an improving trend in the government’s capability to prepare, procure and manage PPPs. There is however, area for improvement in the management of PPP contracts.

The 2018 Albanian ranking provides potential international and domestic PPP investors and developers with insights into the holistic health of the Albanian PPP enabling environment against the background of ongoing PPP reforms that are being supported by the EBRD and maturation in the Albanian PPP market.

The overall improvement in the 2018 scores over 2017 scores is encouraging and investors should take note.

In addition to the recent scores for Albania, additional updated information on 134 other countries is available in this report.

Disclaimer: The ownership and the opinion expressed pertain to their authors.While all the effort are made to ensure the accuracy of this publication, it is not intended to provide legal advice as individual situations may differ and should be discussed with an expert. For any specific technical or legal advice on the information provided and related topics, contact us through “lorenc.gordani@euroelektra.al”.